Decapitator for fowls.



No. 647,425. Patented Apr. l0, moo.

L. m. PRATT.

DECAPITATUR FUR FOWLS.

(Applicatioh filed MB.y 16, 1899.)

(No Model.)

,NITED STATES LElVIS M. PRATT, OF BELLEVILLE,

KANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO ARNOLD G.

MILLER, OF SAME PLACE.

' DECAPITATOR Fo FOWLS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Fatent No. 647,425, dated April 10, 1900.

Application filed May 16, 1899.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS M. PRATT,a citizen of,the United States, residing atBelleville, in the county of Republic and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Decapitator for Fowls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for decapitating poultry, and has for its object to provide an improved device in which the fowl is completely concealed from view, so that the usual convulsions thereof may not be seen.

A further object is to provide the necksevering knife with a trip adapted to be operated by the fowl, whereby it is not necessary to hold or handle the fowl during the execution thereof.

To these ends the present invention con-- Corresponding parts are designated by like reference characters in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

1 designates an end or side of a box or in-.

closure adapted to receive the fowl and is provided with a door or cover 2, whereby entrance may be had to the interior of the box for placing the fowls therein and removing them after being killed. Although a rectangular box having a hinged cover is shown in the drawings it will be understood that the shape and size thereof may be varied and the location of the entrance-opening and the door or cover thereof may be changed as desired.

An opening 3 is provided through the side of the box, being preferably of triangular form and having opposite sides converging upwardly, so that the vertex of the angle thereof is alined vertically above thebase of the opening and adapted to, form a seat for the recep- Serial No. 717,067. (No model.)

tion of the neck of the fowl, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. Working vertically across the outer face of the openingis a knife-blade 4, having a sprin -shank 5 in the plane of the blade and a laterally-extending attaching-stem 6, provided at the end of the shank opposite the blade. The knifeblade is preferably formed from a single fiat length of metal twisted longitudinally, as at 4, to provide the spring-shank. The stem 6 is fastened to the outer face of the side of the box, at one side of the opening 3 and near the bottom of the box, by means of suitable staples or eyes 7, rigidly connecting the stem to the box, whereby the spring-shank tends to normally hold the knife blade in' the elevated position thereof, which is limited by means of a stop-pin 8, projecting outwardly from the side of the box and in the path of the shank of the knife. It will be understood that only the portion of the upper edge of the knifeblade which spans the opening 3 is sharpened and is adapted to operate in the upward movement of the blade. A wear-plate 9 is provided upon the outer side of the box adjacent to the edge of the opening 3, which is next to the shank of the knife-blade, and a guide-strap 10 is arranged beyond the opposite side of the opening and embracing the free end of the knife to hold the same in place close to the outer face of the box.

The knife-blade is adapted to be held in its depressed position by means of a horizontal trip-lever ll, arranged within the box and carried upon the inner face of the side 1. One end of this lever is bent at substantially right angles to provide a thumb-piece 12, adapted for use in setting the trip, and the opposite end is flattened for a suitable length and bent to provide a fiat catch-shoulder 13, locatedupon the same side of the lever as is the setting th umb-piece. The lever is mounted below the bottom of the opening 3 upon the upper face of a lateral shoulder 14,formed by a block secured to the inner side of the box, and is pivoted thereto upon a pivot-pin 15, passing through the flattened portion of the lever adjacent to the trip-shoulder end thereof. Opposite slots 16 and 17 respectively, are provided transversely through the side 1 of the box, so as to accommodate the thumb-piece l2 and the catch 13 and permit of the same extending through the slots and projecting beyond the outer face of the box. The thumb-piece end of the lever is limited in its movement by means of a staple or eye 18, carried by the inner face of the side of the box and embracing the lever.

In the operation of the device the fowl is placed within the box, after which the cover or door is closed, so there will be but one opening to admit light into the box. It will be understood that the knife-blade has been previously forced downward and the thumbpiece 12 pushed inward so as to engage the catch-shoulder over the upper edge of the knife-blade, whereby the latter is held down. The fowl will naturally endeavor to escape through the opening 3, which is large enough to permit only the head and neck of the fowl to project therethrough, and by reason of the latter pressing against the long arm of the trip-lever the catch-shoulder will be disengaged from the knife and the latter Willbe thrown upward by the spring-shank thereof. The upward throw of the knife will engage the same with the under side of the neck of the tow], and the latter, being held against upward movement by the convergent walls of the opening 3, will be effectively severed in a neat and convenient manner. The convulsions of the fowl are entirely concealed from view by reason of the fact that the body thereof is held within the box and the fowl is prevented from being thrown about by the convulsions thereof. In view of these facts the present device is especially adapted for domestic use.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. An automatic decapitator for fowls, &c., comprising an inclosing receptacle for the fowl having an opening to admit the head of the fowl, a decapitating device adjacent to the opening, actuating means therefor, and a trip adjacent to said openin g for holding and releasing the decapitating device, substantially as described.

2, An automatic decapitator for fowls, 850., comprising an inclosing receptacle adapted to contain a fowl and provided with an opening, a knife-blade and actuating means for moving said blade across the opening, a catch for holding the knife-blade, and a trip arranged within the receptacle in the way of the fowl, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a box or inclosure adapted to receive the fowl and provided with an opening, of a knife-blade having a movement transversely across the opening, and a lever pivoted intermediate of its ends and within the box or inclosure, one end of the lever extending through a slot in the box and adapted to engage the knife-blade, whereby a catch is provided therefor, and the opposite end of the lever forming a trip adapted to be engaged by the fowl and thereby release the catch, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a boxor inclosure adapted to receive the fowl, and provided with an opening, of a knife-blade mounted upon the box and having a vertical movement transversely across the outer face of the opening, and a lever pivoted intermediate of its ends to the inner face of the side of the box having the opening therein and located below said opening, one end of the lever being pro-. vided with a transverse catch, and the opposite end provided with a transverse thumbpiece, the latter and the catch extending through slots formed in the adjacent side of the box and projecting beyond the outer face thereof, the catch being adapted to engage over the upper edge of theknife-blade to hold the latter, and the thumbpiece end of the lever being adapted to be'engaged by the fowl and thereby disengage the catch, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a box or inclosure adapted to receive the fowl and provided with an opening formed through one side, of a springactuated knife blade having a movement transversely across the opening and formed from a single length of flat metal twisted longitudinally to provide a spring-shank, hav ing its end bent transversely to provide an attaching-stem, fastenings securing the stem to the box, a catch adapted to hold the knifeblade in its set position, and a trip for the catch, substantially as shown and described. 6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a box or inclosure provided with an opening formed through one side of the box and a block secured to theinner face of said side and located below the opening, of a knife-blade having a vertical movement transversely across the outer face of the opening, and a horizontally-disposed lever having one end bent transversely into a thumb-piece and the opposite end flattened and bent into a fiat transverse catch-shoulder extending in the same direction as the thumb-piece, said lever being pivoted near its catch-shoulder end to the block carried by the box, the thumb-piece and catch extending through slots formed in the adjacent side of the box and projecting beyond the outer face thereof, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signaturein the presence of two witnesses.

LEIVIS M. PRATT.

Witnesses:

B. B. McCALL, Q. A. A. GARDNER. 

